ALTWHEELS FESTIVAL MOVES TO BOSTON CITY HALL PLAZA TO SHOWCASE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

  / <http://www.altwheels.org/>/


  */ /*


  */For Immediate Release/*

 

*Contacts:       */Event Founder:                 /Alison Sander         
617-868-1582          info@altwheels.org 

/                        Event Press:/      Janice Halpern        
508-698-6810          classic.pr@verizon.net 
<file:///C:%5CLocal%20Settings%5CTemporary%20Internet%20Files%5COLKB8%5Cclassic.pr@verizon.net>

 

*ALTWHEELS FESTIVAL MOVES TO BOSTON CITY HALL PLAZA*

*TO SHOWCASE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES*

 

·        *One-stop shopping for solutions to high gas prices, oil 
dependence and climate change*

·        *New Boston City Hall Plaza location - FREE*

·        *Circling Boston with a week of clean-transportation info & events*

* *

*Boston, MA - July 26, 2006* - Record high gas prices. Dependence on 
foreign oil. Climate change. What's the answer?  When it comes to 
transportation, AltWheels answers!

 

At the invitation of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston will host the 
4^th annual AltWheels Alternative Transportation Festival, the 
Northeast's largest alternative-transportation showcase, on Friday and 
Saturday, September 22 and 23 on Boston City Hall Plaza. 

 

AltWheels presents the wide variety of transportation alternatives that 
highlight ways to beat high gasoline prices, reduce greenhouse-gas 
emissions, and restore energy independence to this country.

 

"We're thrilled the City of Boston and Mayor Menino invited AltWheels to 
City Hall Plaza," said Alison Sander, founder of AltWheels. "The good 
news is that many inventors, communities and companies are creating 
real-world alternative-transportation solutions that are available now, 
and consumers are responding. The carrot of a cleaner environment and 
the stick of high-cost foreign oil are driving more companies and 
consumers to look for cleaner, healthier technologies. Our move to City 
Hall Plaza gives many more people a chance to see these technologies and 
the alternatives that can create a healthier future for all of us. We 
invite everyone to come make history and explore the Energy /Freedom 
Trail^TM / at AltWheels!"

 

The 2006 Festival will conclude with a Lawn Show at its original home in 
Brookline, at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, on Sunday, September 24.

 

*AltWheels Festival and Lawn Show*

Alternatives to the gasoline-fueled car have been around since the 
1800s. Today, cars can get 60-plus miles per gallon and zero-emission 
vehicles exist. AltWheels features more than 70 vehicles beating the 
high cost and pollution associated with traditional gas- and 
diesel-powered vehicles. Passenger vehicles on display will include the 
latest hybrid models, solar-powered and electric cars, plug-in hybrids 
that can fueled at home through a plug, fuel-cell/hydrogen million 
dollar prototype vehicles, vehicles that run on compressed natural gas 
-- including CNG home-refueling options -- cars that run on used 
vegetable oil, and biodiesel and ethanol options. Non-auto 
transportation options include rides on the Segway HT^(TM) scooter, 
commuter bikes, electric scooters, bike-valet parking, and bike rides 
from the site. AltWheels will also display historical vehicles, 
including a 1920s Stanley Steamer and a 1914 electric vehicle.

"This year, we are proud to bring the first ethanol vehicles and 
distribution to Massachusetts," Sander added. In addition to passenger 
vehicles, AltWheels will showcase alternative-fuel buses, trucks and 
public transit as well as a full display of bike and walking trails and 
other fitness options. Several of the alternative-fuel vehicles will be 
offered at discount prices to Festival participants. The Festival and 
Lawn Show are not just for adults. Vehicle demonstrations will be 
coupled with fun, games, food, entertainment and activities for the 
whole family.

 

AltWheels will also circle Boston with more than a week's worth of 
events. A highlight of this year's Festival will be a chance to explore 
the green Energy /Freedom Trail,^(TM)/ which will connect to Boston's 
historic /Freedom Trail^(TM)/ and offer resources and practical ideas 
for drivers,  homeowners, teachers, families, politicians, and citizens.

 

*AltWheels Admission*

Admission to the Festival is free on Friday and Saturday, September 22 
and 23 on Boston City Hall Plaza, and $7 per person on Sunday, September 
24 at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline. Admission at the 
Festival's Auto Museum location includes admission to the Museum itself, 
and is reduced for those arriving by cleaner-transportation options.

*AltWheels Symposium*

The AltWheels Festival kicks off Saturday and Sunday, September 16 and 
17 with the AltWheels Symposium at the Boston Museum of Science. The 
Symposium will provide more in-depth information on the varieties of 
technologies that will be on display at City Hall Plaza and the Larz 
Anderson Auto Museum the following weekend.  Panel discussions with 
industry experts will cover such topics as promoting the use of 
fuel-efficient and renewable-fuel vehicles for personal, government, and 
business use; initiatives to encourage ride sharing and increased use of 
mass transit; and innovations that all play an important role in 
creating a more sustainable transportation future. 

*AltWheels Fleet Day*

AltWheels will host an invitation-only Fleet Day on Monday, September 25 
at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, bringing industry and municipal fleet 
directors together to focus on the challenges and benefits of 
incorporating alternative fuels into commercial and government fleets. 
Fleet Day will offer case studies on successful fleet conversions while 
providing information resources to assist fleet managers in reducing 
their fuel costs and pollutant emissions.

*AltWheels Sponsors*

The more than thirty sponsors of AltWheels include Ford Motor Co., WBZ 
NewsRadio 1030, General Motors, Staples, Toyota, Volkswagen, American 
Honda, Clean Energy, KeySpan Energy, Massport, AVSG, Clair Toyota, Clean 
Cabs for Boston, Dennis K. Burke, Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems, 
Honda Village, Massachusetts Clean Cities Coalition, Mathworks, 
WorldEnergy, Zipcar, Azure Dynamics, Bank of America, Cummins, Emerging 
Vehicles, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, National Association of Fleet 
Administrators, Society of Automotive Engineers, and Women's 
Transportation Seminar, Westborough Toyota and Bell Power Systems. More 
than 70 co-hosts and 150 volunteers help make AltWheels happen.

 

Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available.  For more 
information please email classic.pr@verizon.net 
, info@altwheels.org 
, visit www.altwheels.org 
<http://www.altwheels.org/>, or call 508-698-6810.

 

*AltWheels Schedule of Events*

Ø      *AltWheels Speakers Symposium, *Boston Museum of Science, Cahners 
Theatre:

o       *Saturday, Sept. 16,* 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. /Technology, Fuel and 
Infrastructure /

o       *Sunday, Sept. 17, *10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  /Transportation Choices 
and Smart Design/

o       No extra charge with paid Museum admission.

Ø      *Alternative-Transportation Caravan:* *Thursday, Sept. 21*, 
departing from the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline at 5:30 p.m. 
and arriving at MIT in Cambridge at 6:00 p.m.

Ø      *AltWheels Festival: *Boston City Hall Plaza, *Friday, Sept. 22*, 
7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and *Saturday, Sept. 24*, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Larz 
Anderson Auto Museum, *Sunday, Sept. 24,* 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Ø      *Fleet Day: *Larz Anderson Auto Museum,* Monday, Sept. 25*, 8:00 
a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

 

 

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*PHOT**OS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AND ON THE WWW.ALTWHEELS.ORG 
<http://www.altwheels.org/> WEBSITE.*